Notable Quotables - 05/01/1989

Published: 5/1/1989 12:00 AM ET

Ted Turner

"I absolutely trust
them [Soviet leaders] with my life. They're not even an enemy anymore."- Turner quoted in the April 13 Washington Post.

Abortion

"There may well be
systematic attempts to assassinate doctors who perform abortions. Or we may
have snipers lying in wait to kill pregnant women entering abortion
centers."
- Harry Schwartz, former member of The New York Times editorial
board, on what will happen if Roe vs. Wade is upheld, from April 25 column for
USA Today.

"For a while it
seemed as if no one was taking them all that seriously. They were just a bunch
of born-again fanatics going around bombing abortion clinics, or at least
blockading them, putting their bodies on the line for God and fetus."
- "Essayist" Anne Taylor Fleming on the MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour,
April 10.

Oliver North

"Like North, Castro
has always portrayed foreign policy as an endless struggle between darkness
and light, and the Fidels and Ollies of the world desperately need each other.
'Great Satans,' observes Hunter,[of the Center for Strategic and International
Studies] 'always come in pairs.'"
- U.S. News and World Report Senior Writer Steven Roberts, April 17.

Jim Wright

Vietnam

"Tens of thousands
have migrated here unofficially to take advantage of the region's rich
resources....where water is scarce, the climate inhospitable and diseases like
malaria commonplace."
- Washington Post reporter Keith Richburg in an article on
resettlement of Vietnamese, April 16.

Abbie Hoffman

"The schemes were
mostly put-ons and fodder for the press, Hoffman's most faithful
co-conspirator."
- Time reporter Richard Lacayo, April 24.

New York Gang
Rape

"Ron Green [local
citizen] thinks part of the problem is that society has neglected these
children. There are too few constructive activities for them."
- NBC reporter Cassandra Clayton in Nightly News story on the brutal
rape of a woman in Central Park by teenagers, April 24.

Energy Policy

"Unless the growth
of fuel consumption is slowed dramatically or nonfossil fuel energy sources,
including solar and nuclear, are expanded rapidly, the world could face
climatic changes leading to widespread flooding and famine...Thus the time has
come to get tough about conservation. The first step should be immediate
increase in the federal gasoline tax."- Time writer Michael
Lemonick in the April 17 "Environment" section.

Economy

"Good Evening. A
double dose of worrisome economic statistics tonight from the government:
inflation, with its highest quarterly gain in two years; home building,
sharply down. That left some economists alarmed."
- Dan Rather opening the April 18 CBS Evening News.

"This country's
economic expansion has now entered its seventh year and the Joint Economic
Committee of Congress says still more growth can be expected. It warned,
however, that this growth could be threatened by huge budget deficits and
renewed inflation. But, the inflation news today is reassuring."
- Tom Brokaw on NBC Nightly News, same night.

Reagan
Administration

"But don't you,
don't you miss the Reagan Administration? I mean, that's an administration
that so unintentionally did so many things that were laughable."
- Bryant Gumbel to cartoonist Jeff MacNelly on NBC's Today, April
20.

Linda Ellerbee

"The moment I read
how Oliver North's lawyer had told the jury that Oliver North didn't want to
be a hero, he just wanted to go home, suddenly I smiled, threw down my
newspaper, jumped up from my chair and shouted, 'Pinocchio!' Oliver North
reminded me of Pinocchio. You remember Pinocchio, the puppet whose nose grew
every time he told a lie. Well, the same thing had been happening to Ollies'
ears, they were getting bigger all the time."
- Ellerbee's CNN commentary, April 21.

"Oh, I see, you
don't want to be a hero, you just want to go home. Yeah, you and every other
puppet I ever saw. Okay, Ollie, you go home, we'll even give you a map to help
you find your way. It's called the Constitution of the United States of
America, this time try reading it before you shred it. You hear?"
- same commentary.

Valdez Oil Spill

"People have asked
me if the Reagan era is over; I think those (oil-covered) otters might tell
you, because according to what I understand, the Reagan era relaxed
regulations to such an extent that we were able to have an oil spill like
that."
- Roy Blount, Jr. on CBS This Morning, April 11.

Soviet Georgia

"Until last
weekend, Soviet troops just looked on at the demonstrators. Then, over the
weekend, they moved. They didn't shoot at the crowd."
- Bob Abernethy, NBC Nightly News, April 10.

"Today the Soviet
Army opened fire on a pro-independence rally in Soviet Georgia. At least
eighteen people have died in a week of unrest."
- Peter Jennings, World News Tonight, same night.

Unfounded Quote
of the Month

"It is estimated
that by the year 2000, 19 million Americans will be homeless unless something
is done, and done now."
- Charles Osgood on CBS This Morning, April 19.

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